Make Milkweed Last Longer
How to Make Milkweed Cuttings Last Several Days:
One of the biggest challenges of raising monarch caterpillars is keeping milkweed cuttings fresh for longer than a day. A easy technique is documented below using a regular bottled water containers with great success and have been able to keep a cutting alive for up to two weeks.
Start by collecting several bottles and drilling a hole large enough for the stem to fit through in the cap. Once I have drilled a hole in each cap, fill all the bottles that you plan on using with water and screw on the pre-drilled cap.
Then you bring them with you as you take cuttings from milkweed plants. Cut one stem at a time and remove the leaves from the bottom 6 inches of the stem before you insert it into the bottle, you then score the bottom 4 to 6 inches of the stem with a sheetrock knife ( or any sharp knife or blade) so it can absorb more water to feed the remaining leaves and flowers.
Insert the stem into the bottle and repeat the process for the remaining bottles you plan to use. The cutting will droop during the first several hours but will bounce back. You typically want to try to take the cuttings during the early morning or the late evening so there will be less stress on the plant.
Make more bottles than you plan to use so that you can transfer cuttings in and out of your butterfly habitat as needed. The advantage of using this method is that there is very little evaporation and the milkweed cuttings last long enough that the caterpillars will be able to finish eating all the leaves and flowers because the last thing you want to happen is running out of milkweed in the middle of raising hungry caterpillars.
Use 3 -4 chopsticks to keep the bottle steady in a container by burying the chopsticks half way around the bottles.
A extra : Once eaten by the caterpillars you can stick the cuttings in a good soil and keep it moist. If it roots you might end up with a new milkweed plant.
The technique has been perfected by Raul L. , San Jose, CA
